Amit Shah credits Ajit Doval for India's defence transformation in 12 years
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Ajit Doval has played a pivotal role in transforming India’s defence capabilities over the past 12 years, and said
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Ajit Doval has played a pivotal role in transforming India’s defence capabilities over the past 12 years, and said the country’s armed forces have seen a major shift in both defensive and offensive strength. Amit Shah was speaking after presenting the Lokmanya Tilak Award 2026 to Security Advisor Doval at a programme in Pune. Read Full Story Amit Shah also said Doval had helped strengthen India’s foreign policy and had a “role and advice” in the background of every decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on national security. At the same event, Amit Shah said India was moving firmly on the path of cultural nationalism envisaged by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and that “no one can reverse that journey”, while Doval said he was accepting the award with humility and urged young people to dedicate themselves to the national interest. “In the last 12 years, the Narendra Modi government has transformed our armed forces’ security capabilities as well as their offensive capabilities, and Doval Saheb has made a pivotal contribution to this transformation,” Amit Shah said.
He said the first selection made by PM Modi after taking office in 2014 was to appoint Doval as NSA. Amit Shah said PM Modi took several major decisions to modernise the armed forces, bring structural changes, fine-tune the use of technology and the valour of the Indian armed forces, and strengthen their operational capabilities, and that Doval played a key advisory role in these steps. “NSA Ajit Doval has played a great role in strengthening India’s foreign policy. In every decision of PM Modi for national security, Doval has had a ‘role and advice’ in the background,” Shah said. He also praised Doval’s career in the Intelligence Bureau and national security, and credited him with laying a strong foundation for the Multi-Agency Centre, which he said is now the backbone of the country’s internal security. Amit Shah added that much of Doval’s work can never be fully revealed because of the nature of intelligence operations. Recalling his own association with Doval, Amit Shah said PM Modi, then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, had introduced him to Doval after serial bomb blasts hit Gujarat in 2008.
“Based on his inputs, the Gujarat police not only investigated the Gujarat serial blasts but also solved 13 other bomb blast cases across the country. It was a major achievement,” Amit Shah said. Amit Shah said that after retiring from government service in 2005, Doval continued to work on strengthening India’s internal and external security as president of the Vivekananda International Foundation. “Between 2005 and 2014, he deliberated extensively on strengthening the country’s internal and external security. Those ideas remained confined to books until 2014. After Narendra Modi became Prime Minister and appointed him Security Advisor, those ideas were translated into action,” he said. He added that when the history of Modi’s tenure is written, a “golden chapter” would have to be reserved for Doval’s contribution to India’s national security architecture. Turning to Tilak’s legacy, Amit Shah praised “Gita Rahasya” and urged young people to read the Bhagavad Gita through Tilak’s perspective. “If the youth of the country read the Gita through the perspective of Tilak Maharaj, they will never commit mistakes in life,” he said. He added, “Tilak Maharaj’s writings will never go out of fashion.
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